Coalition of nonprofits make it easier to find behavioral health answers in Newport County

What’s the best way to find help if you or your loved one is struggling? In Newport County, “No Wrong Door” Behavioral Health is making it easier to find the answer through a remarkable coalition of nonprofits whose doors are wide open to anyone seeking help.

'No Wrong Door' system of care

The Newport County Prevention Coalition (with a focus on preventing drug use) and Newport Mental Health (with a focus on recovery) are closely connected through a focus on substance use and mental health care and prevention. They, along with eight other local nonprofits, make up a system of care committed not just to eight individual missions, but to helping Newport County residents overcome the barriers to care common to all of the agencies, while also working together to close any gaps in care. Boys Town, Child & Family Services, CODAC, East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP), Hope Recovery, Newport Hospital, Newport Mental Health, and Tides Family Services are working together to create a coordinated and accessible system of mental health and substance use disorder services and supports.

At the heart of this cooperation is No Wrong Door (NWD), which is both an organization and a concept. As an organization, it is where agencies come together to share information and cooperate to remove barriers to care. And it is a concept whereby, thorough an understanding of the resources available outside its own walls, each agency can provide better care. This means that, if someone walks through the door of Newport Mental Health or any of the agencies in the coalition, they are never in the wrong place. If we don’t provide the support or treatment they need, we know who does and we ensure they get there.

Sharing information is just the start. There are also coordinated care efforts, including joint Community Care Team Meetings to plan the care of children and adults with unmet complex behavioral health needs, and Joint Needs Assessment and Planning sessions to identify, and devise a plan to meet, behavioral health issues that exist but don’t yet have a program to address them.

The No Wrong Door efforts are governed by a Community Council comprised of providers and people with lived behavioral health experience. Recently, the Community Council and No Wrong Door staff conducted “listening sessions” for people in need of, or using, behavioral health services in Newport County. Among the many strengths and weaknesses that were identified by the NWD providers, two basic needs rose to the top: the need for clean clothes and access to a shower. The Community Council then put into action two initiatives: Fresh Fit and Laundry Love.

Breaking the cycle

“If we don’t treat people like human beings first, and tune in and attend to their dignity, and their rights, we are not going to get people help,” says Rebecca Elwell, executive director of the Strategic Prevention

Partnerships. “Whatever it is that is a struggle for that person, that family, it’s going to continue and it’s going to be generational and it’s going to be a cycle that just continues. But when we can step up, we can have a personal relationship, where I know your name, and I know some of your preferences, we have a connection. That is an important first step to break the cycle.”

This realization is at the heart of Laundry Love and Fresh Fit.

Laundry Love helps low or no-income families and individuals by covering the cost of washing clothing and bedding. This unique partnership with two local laundromats helps relieve some of the financial burden facing families. Free laundry is offered twice each month, once at Micki’s ‘Mat in Newport and once at Ocean State Laundry in Middletown.

The Fresh Fit Program was developed to provide a pathway to hygiene and empowerment for individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The program pays for gym memberships, which includes access to showers and hygiene supplies in addition to the opportunity to work on their personal fitness.

Programs like Laundry Love also offer the opportunity to talk with people about their needs, and to provide additional services and supports while they wait for their laundry. For example, representatives may be on hand to help with SNAP benefits. It is this opportunity to communicate and listen that Elwell says builds trust and relationships and leads to more solutions for connecting people to the care they need.

Care is more than treatment

You may have heard the term “wraparound services.” This concept of care is a personalized, holistic approach to meeting the needs of the individual. When we look at the whole person, the options for treatment become broader and more creative. Laundry Love and Fresh Fit are examples of this creative care, but the concept goes even further. An individual came to us struggling with profound grief due to loss. Thanks to interagency cooperation, it was possible to provide the financial support to match this individual with a rescue dog. Two lives were made better in a simple yet profound way, thanks to a coordinated system of care.

If you need services, are interested in contributing to Laundry Love or donating a gym membership, or would like to learn more about No Wrong Door, please visit https://strategicprevention.org/

Jamie Lehane is chief strategy officer of Newport Mental Health in Middletown. Peace of Mind, which is co-written with Kristan McClintock, appears monthly in the Newport Daily News and online at newportri.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Newport County nonprofits team up to find behavioral health answers